Speed governor for engines



June 12, 1951 E v ROBNETT, JR ,4

SPEED GOVERNOR FOR ENGINES Filed June 24, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor June 12, 1951 E v ROBNETT, JR 2,556,485

- SPEED GOVERNOR FOR ENGINES I Filed June 24, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F ig. Z.

Inventor .E V Robnefl, Jr.

June 12, 1951 E v ROBNETT, JR 2,556,485

SPEED GOVERNOR FOR ENGINES Filed June 24, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I E V ROD/l8, Jr. L6. 9 I y WW Atteys June 12, 1951 E v ROBNETT, JR 2,556,485

' SPEED GOVERNOR FOR ENGINES Filed June 24, 1947 I I 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A II ' Inventor E V Rabneff, J:

June 12, 1951 E v ROBNETT, JR

SPEED GOVERNOR FOR ENGINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 24, 1947 m: Vk\ 5 wm mm 1 III o8 I m: H, 1 MR v9 92 E mm 09 I a n 2: mm mm o m n vm 8 f wk 3 mm mm at Inventor E V Rabneff, Jr.

v, I Bj 1? Patented June 12, 1951 UNIT Eo- STATE-1S GFFFTCE,

SPEED'GOVER'NOR FORENGINES Robnett, Jr.;Scott Field,.Jll., assignorrtor. Auto Cruz Corporation, Austin,l. Tex., a-corpo-- ration: of Texas Application J line-24 1947, Serial No: 756,732

7 Claims (01. 123-103) fiyiforthrottleevalve to" thereby. maintainxaxprestion line.i5+5: ;of-Fi-gure 4;:1;

determined,. adjustable and i constant v speed lot: operation of th'eaengine and vehicle.

A further important-purpose of the invention is to providenamechanismin accordance Y with the preceding objects wherein-the various :func:

tions of the apparatus shall --beperformed by power; derived J from various conventionalcom-r ponents or accessorie's of anenginel and -autO- motive vehicle.-

Another important objectresides in develop- And i stillanother important 1 object oftheinvention resides in: providing a novel -and improved mechanismactuatable by conventional vehicle: brake mechanism for rendering the governor apparatus inoperative during actuation? ofthe brakes: 3

Still another purpose of the invention resides:- in providing a" novel, improved and conveniently" located -manua1 -means for adjusting-"the speed f.

range' of operation'of-the engineLunder th'e con-t trol of the governor. 4

And :a -lfinal important purpose of the invenrtio'nito: be specifically enumerated herein IeSideS'Ti ini providingia device of compact, simple,=- durable and 'leconomicali construction, and yet" highly: efiicient for the purposes intended;

These; together with .various ancillary-iobjects ofthe' invention, which will later become apparent as the .followingdescription proceeds, are attained by this device, a preferred embodiment ofiwhich has been illustrated, by wayof example 1 1 h l w ns ru ionandprovided-withdek only in .the accompanying drawings, wherein:.

Figure 1 1 s; is: a perspective view showing the apparatus attached to a conventional type: of:

automobilexengine and vehicle; r

the device shown "inal igureel and takenliromn.

one sideuthere'ofem Figure :.3' lisrattopgplan :vieW;roixrthesdevice .ae, portion of the dash upon which the same ise 5 i3. mounted bei'ngwshown' iii-section;

Figure 4 is; allongitudiiialovertical lse'ctionaln View taken substantial-1y; uponsith'ei planes ofiithe I sectionrline::A--4 rofxtFrigur'e .3

Figure 15 bis 2a werticalrtransversesectionali view taken A substantiallyruponi theaplane 10f ithe-asec-i Figure :6 is; a-zperspectiveisvi'ew of :a portion a of :thecen-trifugal.actuatingmeanstot thesievice';

Figure 17 is as vertical-.transverseesectional. wiw-r through ra ..portion -ofr;tl 1e mechanism; .7 1

Figure 181is a2 groupsperspecti-veziview Iotisomel.

ofc'athe elementsishownimsFigune'fl; andgi.

Figure :9 isra?horizontalissectional;.lview ttakenp: sulo'st'antiallyruponzrtheeplane v of aithe' section line; 1 99 zof Figure -7'.-

Referringinowl more-specifically ;to ithesannexecl drawings, wherein-like mumeralsldesignateasimilar parts :throughout;the variouszviews, I E} (-1 designates a; portion iot'itheautomotive vehicle:tofianyzi' suitablel'type, having an-ienginez: I 2;.angenerator: I 4% drivenxbyr the sengine 'fanfabelt 'inhanyz; con:- ventional arrangement as indicated at Figlll illfi. a carburetor designatedratz; l 6 2 and: having ,a throttle or. butterfly:controlmvalave'noperated; in?- accordance awitliaknownzdes'igmby 2aubellr crank 18 5 which is biased :tosits zclosedz'positiombyria spring; 20. The "engine *1 shown provided L'Witheatcrank: case 22 'and xthesvehiclewiscprovidedcpreferably; with hydraulic wbrake actuatingamechanisme one:

ot the hydraulic. 'z-fluidc 'Tpressure z'linesrs beingssindi- As .so 'fardescribeds. thereeis: sindicatedsa com ventional automotivewvehi'cl :andvenginer"whichmay he ofzrany.fsuitableftyperandawhich has been shownrras f provided alwit hydraulic w brakes, aL-J= thoughzit will bea'readi understood :that' the principlesiof th'einvention fmayrbetemployed' in;

is :mounted: the-casing A 28 of: the speed .rgovern ing= attachment forming the subject otthis inven- Y tion. i

As :shown'more -.clearly;iir Figure= 4, the -easing tachable covenplatesatthe opposite ends thereof, as indicatedat 30 and-i32,--the-.head plate 30beingw detachably securedto the casing asrbyzfastening means 34, -,seeeFi-gure+3 whi1ethe s-rearr plate 32 Figure 2 is an enlarged perspectiver'viewwf1smis :securediby similar fastening means;36.--

The dash 26 is suitably apertured to receive and mount the casing 28, which is detachably secured to the dash as by a bolt 38 and nut 40 extending through an aperture 42, while a threaded sleeve 44 carried by the casing 28 extends through the rear plate 32, and is secured as by a lock nut 46 to the dash 25, this sleeve extending through an aperture 48. A further aperture 59 of the dash receives an integral conical boss 52 of the rear plate 32 for a purpose to be subsequently set forth.

As shown best in Figures 4 and 5, the casing 28 is provided with upper and lower cylindrical bores 54 and 56 respectively, the former receiving a piston 58 of any suitable construction and which is urged by a spring 60 positioned between the piston and the head plate 30, inwardly towards the rear plate; while a connecting rod 62 is pivotally connected to the piston and extends through an aperture 64 in the cover head plate 30, and at its outer end is suitably connected by a linkage mechanism to be subsequently set forth, with the above mentioned throttle or butterfly valve bell crank I8, for controlling the position of the latter.

As shown best in Figures 2, 3 and '7, the connecting rod 62 is pivotally connected as at 65 with a crank arm 66 which is journalecl upon a shaft 68, see Figures 7 and 8, this shaft being vertically journaled in a bracket formed by laterally extending integral lugs I from the head cover 30.

Connected to the upper end of the shaft 68, in a manner to be subsequently set forth, is an operating lever arm I2 non-rotatably secured to the shaft and provided with a plurality of spaced apertures '14 which may be selectively engaged by a pivot pin I6 carried by a clevis I8 having an extending rod 80 which, as shown in Figure 1, is provided with a ball and socket type of swivel connection 82 with a link 84 connected to the bell crank I8 operating the throttle valve. It may thus be seen that as the piston 58 is reciprocated in the cylinder 54, in a manner to be subsequently set forth, the associated linkage will operate the throttle valve through the bell crank I8, to any predetermined position, thereby regulating and controlling the speed of the engine and of the vehicle.

Attention is now directed more specifically to Figures 7-9 for a better understanding of the shaft 68 and its functions. As shown best in Figure 8, the upper end of the shaft 68 is provided with a flange 86 and an axial shoulder portion 99 which may be of square cross section and which is received in a correspondingly shaped aperture 99 in the end of the lever 12. The lever is thus nonrotatably fixed upon the shaft 68 and is retained thereon as by a fastening means 92 such as a screw threadedly engaging the boss 88.

Intermediate its ends, the shaft 68 is provided with a collar or disk 94 suitably secured thereto and having a downwardly extending segmental jaw portion 96 formed integral therewith, this jaw forming part of a clutch adapted to have a rotary lost motion engagement with a complementary clutch jaw 98 carried by the upper surface of lever 66. As will be seen by reference to Figure 9, movement of the lever 66 in a counterclockwise direction causes its clutch jaw 98 to engage and impart rotation to the jaw 96 thereby producing rotation of the shaft 68 and actuating the carburetor throttle valve as above set forth. Obviously, a clockwise rotation of the arm 66 merely causes the jaw 98 to disengage the jaw 96, without imparting rotation to the shaft 68. By this means, the shaft 68 may be caused to rotate in a counter-clockwise rotation, as by means of operation of the carburetor throttle valve by the conventional foot accelerator pedal or the like, whereby the jaw 96 will withdraw from the jaw 98 without imparting rotation to the arm 65.

The lever 66 has its hub portion I99 extended and provided with an annular ring or groove I02 at the lower end thereof, which is adapted to seat a locking ring I94 of known type, by means of which the lever 66 and sleeve I99 may be detachably secured in the bore of a bushing I06, which is screw threaded externally at its lower end as at I59 and extending through the lower flange or lug I9 detachably engages a correspondingly internally threaded portion of a housing I I0. Thus, by tightening the bushing or gland I06 upon the housing III), the latter is clamped securely to the lowermost of the flanges It for securely supporting the housing thereon.

The housing H0 is provided with an internal bore or chamber H2 into which th rod 68 extends, this rod terminating in a plunger or piston H4, of any suitable type, which is slidable vertically in the chamber I I2. At its lower end, the chamber H2 is provided with a port H6 which is in communication with a conduit H8 as by a connection I29.

The arrangement is Such that the spring I22 normally forces the plunger I I4 and the shaft 68 downwardly into its lowermost position, during which the collar 94 bearing upon the upper surface of the arm '66 forces the latter into seating engagement upon the upper surface of the bushing I95, with the plunger H4 in the lowermost position in the chamber H2. In this position, the clutch jaws 96 and 98 are in their operative positions. When now, a pressure fluid is applied by means of the conduit I I8 to the interior of the chamber H2 below the plunger II4, the latter is forced upwardly against the action of spring I22, whereupon the collar 94 and clutch jaw 96 are elevated above the clutch jaw 98 of the lever 66, to thereby disengage the clutch, and disconnect the operative engagement between the connecting rod 62 and the throttle valve actuating lever T2.

In this position, the lever 66 may be freely rotated or oscillated by the connecting rod 62, as the piston 58 is reciprocated within its fluid pressure cylinder 54, without imparting movement to the linkage controlling or operating the throttle valve of the engine. As shown best in Figure l, the conduit H8 is in direct connection with a T coupling I24 at any suitable point in the hydraulic brake line 24, whereby upon actuation of the brakes, a pressure impulse will be imparted to the casing Hi], to actuate the plunger H4 and thereby disengage the speed governor from its operative connection with the engine throttle valve. Thus, when it becomes necessary to stop or slow the vehicle, as in an emergency, the mere application of the brakes will be sufficient to dis engage the speed governor from the engine; and upon release of the brakes, the spring I22 will again restore the connection of the speed governor to the engine throttle valve.

As shown best in Figure 1, a conduit I25 is provided which is connected with the pressure side of the engine lubricating pump, or any other suitable sourc of fluid pressure, while the return conduit I28 is provided for returning the pressure fluid back to the crank case, or other source of supply. The conduit I26 is connected to the side wall of the casing 28, while conduit I28 communicates through a port I39 with the lower portion of the chamber 56. I

As-shown in Figure 4, the chamber 56 is fQ-rm ed by a *bGIe which extends from the head ot-the casing 28 and-which-terminates ina reduced bore I32 extending throughthe rear end of the-casing 28 and receives the previously mentioned sleeve 44 therein, as by means of screw'threa'ds I34. The-conduit 126 communicates with a laterally extending passage I36 formed-in the :easingJZB which latter passage extends into- -and intersects the bore I32 intermediate its ends, and com-mu nicates with a port I88 -formed-in the-sleeve '44. By-this means, fluid pressureisconstantly supplied to the internal boreof the sleeve id. -As

shown in Figure 4, a longitudinally spaced outlet port-I 46 is providedin the bushing 44; which latter-port communicates I with a' passage 482 which in turn communicates with a longitudinally extending passage IM. The-latterintersectsa channel I46 formed in the rear coverplate 32,

which channel emerges i-nto the-fluid pressure chamber 5 3. Athird lateral bcre or port M6- is provided in the bushing i 'which port :freely communicates with the interior ofLthe chamber 56- andwiththe discharge port 139 therefrom.

- Freely slidable in thebushing 48 is a reciprocating piston valve. or plunger I48 which is resiliently urged in one directionas byfa .coilxspring I58 disposed between one end of the valve .and between an adjustable abutment L52 slidable in the outer end of the .bushingsleeve M. At its outer extremity, the bushing 34 islprovided with a longitudinal slot I54 through whichextendsthe end I56 of a lever I58pivotal1y mounted as at I68 upon a fulcrum support carried by the above mentioned projection 52. The other end or arm I58 of the lever is provided with a plurality of apertures I62 through which may be selectively connected a Bowden wire cable indicated diagrammatically at I64'in Figure 1. By thismeans, the lever arm I58 may bemanually operated from within themotor vehicle, andiby thelBowden wire cable I64. The lever in turn adjusts the pressure or compression of the spring 158 ,by means of the sl'idable abutment I52, 'andthereby controls the resilient pressure urging the "valve I48 towards the left in Figure 4, inwhic'h position the engine throttle valve is urged towards its conduits I42 and port I38, thereby-establishing.

communication between the actuating chamber 54-and the source :of fluid pressure'throughslthe line I26.

A drainage passage L12 formed inlthe plunger I48 and running through substantially the length thereof, is adapted to discharge l'any fluid leaking by the .sealsor packings at the right end of the piston valve I48, into .theinterior :of chamber 56 from whichitis withdrawn by the above mentioned discharge conduit I 28.

-It-will thus be seen that-during its reciprocation, the valve I48selectivelyestablishes com.-

munication between rthegfluidz pressure actuating:

chamber'fflsand the fiuidgpressurezsupply through the conduit 1I2.6,:ports fl38tandtcond uit I42," and with thetfluid discharge con'duit :I 28, through the conduits I42, I44, and ports I46-and I130.

Attention is now directed fmorelspeciflca-lly. ito theiime'ans reciprocating the fluid control valve I48 in accordance with speed variations of the engine. The cover plate 38 'of the casing .28 is provided with an integral outwardly extending tubular sleeve or boss 1.14,. within iwhich 'is journaled :as by means of bearings I16, aishaft I1 8. The shaft -I I8 extends within the chamber 56 and has fixedly secured thereto within said chamber a lateralmember 1'88 upon whose itertminals are pivoted a pair :of centrifugal governor- Weights I82 provided with actuating lugs or fingers I84 which are engageable with a bearing I86 carried by the extremity of the piston valve I48. The arrangement is such that as the shaft I18 is rotated, centrifugal force causes pivotal movement of the governor weights I82, whereby theflngers I84 engaging the bearing I86 urge the valve I48 inwardly of the sleeve 44 against the opposition of spring I58. Obviously, by properly adjusting the tension of spring I58 by means of sliding abutment I52, the valve 148 may' b'e so adjusted that in response to a .predetermined speed of rotation of shaft I18, the valve may be caused to admit fluid pressure to the chamber 54, thereby operating piston 58and associated linkage to open the throttle valve of the engine. For this purpose, the outer ex:- tremity of shaft I18 is provided with a squared axial extension.l88in a detachable manner by a flexible cable I90, see Figure 3, in a flexible housing I92. This housing is detachably connected as at I94 with the screw threaded extremity I96 of the boss 'I14,and at its other end is detachably connected. as at 198,.see Figure l, to any suitable engine driven shaft, such as the armature of the generator I4. Thus, the flexible cable I98, andshaft I18 are driven at a speed directly ,proportional to the speed of the engine and hence of the motor vehicle. Accordingly, the piston valve I48 is actuated in accordance with speed changes between certain limits, of the vehicle and engine, which limits may be regulated by adjusting the position of the sliding abutment I52 and thereby the compression of the spring 150.

It is to be clearly understood that although the invention has been shown as employing fluid pressure from the lubricating system for actuating the control piston, obviously any other fluid pressure or engine developed force may be employed, such as water pump pressure, intake suction, exhaust pressure or the like. To employ these various alternative equivalent pressures, it would merely be necessary to calibrate the range of movement of the mechanism to correspond to the pressures involved, and to give the requisite properly timed movement to the throttle valve actuating linkage.

Further, the speed responsive actuating mechanism for the control valve could readily be energized by any other speed responsive means, such as the engine fan, or any other accessory shaft,the application to a generator being shown as being a convenient source from which power may be taken and which is responsive to the speed of the engine. The operation of the device-is as follows. The manual adjusting means I64 is set in a predetermined position, thereby imposing'the necessary tension upon the spring I50 for adjusting the governor to maintain a predeterminedspeed of the engine and vehicles When so adjusted, the spring I50 urges the valve I48 to the left as best seen in Figure 4, and causes fluid pressure to flow from its source through I26, I36, I38, I68, I40, I42, I44, and I46 into the actuating chamber 54, thus forcing the piston 58 and connecting rod 62 outwardly. Now as best shown in Figure 8, the outward movement of connecting rod 62 mentioned above will cause the arm 66 to rotate counterclockwise about its axis and its rotating motion will be transmitted to the shaft 68 by the lug 98 being in contact with the jaw 96. This counterclockwise rotation of shaft 68 rotates the arm I2 and through the linkage mentioned before advances the throttle of the engine against the tension of the spring 20.

The increase of engine speed resulting from the advancing of the throttle described in the sequence above is imparted to the governor weights I82, see Figure 4, through the flexible cable I90 and the shaft I18. The increased speed of rotation of the governor weights I62 causes them to move outwardly of their axis of rotation and thus forces the valve I48 to the right as viewed in Figure 4.

When the speed of rotation of the engine, and subsequently the speed of the governor weights I82 has attained the rate for which the tension of the spring I50 was adjusted, the outward movement of the governor weights I82 and the simultaneous movement to the right of the fingers I84 will have caused the valve I48 to have moved to such a position that the flange I'Ifl completely blocks the port I40, thereby trapping the fluid in the actuating chamber 54 which will prevent the combined forces of springs 20 and 66 from closing the engine throttle I8.

Any variation of engine speeds caused by changing road conditions such as differences in grades, will result in an automatic positioning of the valve I48 and its flange Ill) to establish communication between the actuating chamber 54 and an additional quantity of fluid under pressure to increase speed or establish a communication which will permit fluid already in the chamber 54 to be exhausted in order that the combined effort of springs 60 and 20 ma close the engine throttle.

Since numerous modifications will readily ocour to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A speed governor for the throttle valve of an engine comprising a force actuated member, a linkage operatively connecting said member to a throttle valve, means for applying an engine developed force to said member, means controlling the application of said force to said member, and means adjusting said control means in response to engine speed, said linkage including a pair of concentric shafts, a lever on one of said shafts connected to said throttle valve and a lever on the other shaft connected to said actuated member and a pair of circumferentially spaced engagement means on said shafts for establishing a lost motion driving engagement therebetween, said one shaft being axially adjustable in said other shaft to selectively disengage said engagement means and said driving engagement, and means for selectively axially moving one of said shafts with relation to the other of said shafts.

movable members including a pair of concentric shafts, said lugs being circumferentially spaced on said shafts.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein one of said shafts carries a piston slidable in said chamher.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said linkage includes a lever on said one of said shafts connected to said fluid pressure actuated member, and a lever on the other of said shafts connected to said throttle valve.

5. A speed governor for the throttle valve of an engine comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocal therein, a linkage operatively connecting said piston to a throttle valve, means for applying an engine developed fluid pressure to said cylinder, a control valve controlling the application of said fluid pressure to said piston, and means adjusting said valve in response to engine speed, said linkage including a pair of concentric shafts, a lever on one of said shafts connected to said throttle valve and a lever on the other shaft connected to said piston, a pair of circumferentially spaced lugs on said shafts for establishing a lost motion driving engagement therebetween, one of said shafts being vertically adjustable in the other shaft to selectively disengage said lugs and said lost motion driving engagement, and means for selectively vertically moving said vertically adjustable shaft.

6'. A speed governor for the throttle valve of an engine comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocal therein, a linkage operatively connecting said piston to a throttle valve, means for applying an engine developed fluid pressure to said cylinder, a control valve controlling the application of said fluid pressure to said piston, and means adjustingssaid valve in response to engine speed, said linkage including a pair of concentric shafts, a lever on a first of said shafts connected to said throttle valve and a lever on the second shaft connected to said piston, a pair of circumferentially spaced lugs each positioned on one of said shafts for establishing a lost motion driving engagement therebetween, said first shaft bein vertically adjustable in said second shaft to selectively engage and disengage said lugs and said lost motion driving engagement, a chamber coaxial with and secured to said second shaft, a piston carried by said first shaft and slidable in said chamber, and fluid supply means connected to said chamber for selectively moving said pis--v ton relative to said chamber to selectively move said first shaft relative to said second shaft.

'7. A speed governor for an engine comprising a throttle valve, a fluid pressure actuated member, means connecting said member to said throttle valve including a linkage having two relatively movable members, each of said movable members including lugs engageable with each other, and hydraulically operated means selectively rendering said connecting means inoperative, said hydraulically operated means including 9 i0 a chamber secured to one of said members, a pis- UNITED STATES PATENTS ton secured 1:0 the other of said mernbers and Number Name Date slidable With-1n Sald chamber, and flu d supply 1 579 1 1 Stacey Mar. 30 9 means connected to said chamber for selectlvely 2,167,110 Gutenberg et d July 25, 1939 moving said P1517011 relative to Sa d c a 5 2 227 174 Easter 31 1940 2,230,742 Bush Feb. 4, 1941 E V ROBNETT 2,260,576 Maybach 001. 28, 1941 2,283,478 Warren May 19, 1942 REFERENCES CITED 2,234,330 Drabble May 26, 1942 The following references are of record in h 10 2,443,084 Rhodes June 8, 1948 file of this patent: 

